Belladonna
by FearlessDranzer
Summary: Kagome's a struggling student whose life is ruled by grades and schoolwork. One night she stumbles upon Sesshoumaru, and they become friends. But the truth will ruin her even as she falls desperately in love with him. Sesshoumaru X Kagome
1. The Veracious Caucus

1Belladonna

By: FearlessDranzer

Three Weeks Earlier

I hauled ass going down the street; literally throwing people out of my way sucker punching old ladies and five year old kids, all to get to the bus stop.

You see, I have a perfectly good excuse for slaughtering innocent bystanders: first off, they're in the way; second, they walk _slow_–I stress slow; third, my mother will have my ass mounted on the wall if I miss the bus. She is _that_ punctual.

OK, I exaggerate a little. I probably only took down three or four old ladies (one might have been an old man...), two toddlers, and that one old lady is probably only maimed. She'll be walking again in no time.

As for my mother... That old lady might be walking soon, but I won't be. You see, she has this obsessive dream of me getting into Tokyo University, only the most prestigious school in all of Japan and probably all of Asia. She wouldn't settle for less even if I dropped dead right this very second. She's still be hounding me about getting in.

To tell the truth, I don't really want to go to Tokyo University, it's too much pressure and way too good for the likes of me. I'd be good with a school a few tiers lower. Actually, even if I do get in, I don't have a major.

But in reality the odds of me getting in are so small, but my mom's heart is set, so all I can do is appease her.

Which is why I had to get on this bus; if I missed it I'd be doing homework and studying in the street like some crazy waiting for the next bus to pull up.

I could see the bus coming so I poured on the speed–not much. It's hard to run in loafers and a skirt, carrying a huge ass bag and a fifty pound physics textbook. Life sucks.

Somehow I made it.

Sitting in the bus seat, trying to catch my breath, I glanced out the window and saw someone standing in the window of the old abandoned building across from the bus stop.

I sucked in air sharply. I could have sworn they were staring straight at me. Then the bus pulled away and I only stopped looking when we were three blocks over. Suddenly, I remembered to breath and shook my head. I felt very strange, very skittish and jumpy.

A chill ran up my back, I felt almost like someone had walked over my grave.

Chapter 1 - The Veracious Caucus

I'm normally a happy perfect person. I'm normally great fun to be around and I'm really funny, cute and talkative.

Not today.

Not to-_fucking_-day.

Why?

WHY?!

It's raining.

And it's not just raining, it's _raining_. You know that old saying 'when it rains, it pours'? Well it's true, I can testify to that one. I'd know, I'm standing in it.

Usually, a little bit of rain doesn't bother me, I'm all for it. Yay rain! Feed the flowers and that shit. But today's _rainstorm_ has been the straw that broke the camel's back.

Because today I just so happened to be walking to the bus stop from prep class without an umbrella or a jacket. And I just so happened to be carrying my History text book and Biology textbook and my messenger bag–all three of which are extremely wet right now.

Not to mention my hair! My poor hair! I actually straightened it this morning. I _actually _took the time out to try and get that stupid pin straight hair that _everyone_ but me seems to be born with. Kill me now.

You know what? I'm going to blame this all on the weathermen. According to them it wasn't supposed to rain until tomorrow afternoon. Not tonight, thank you very much! I'll get them, just you wait, I'll get them even if it's not today or tomorrow or even ten years from today!

Am I over reacting a little bit?

Oh well, it just wasn't a good day at all. I _hate_ prep class. And it doesn't help that we're learning statistics, my worse subject in math. Actually, I'm not that good at math at all. I'm more of a science person, I love Biology and Chemistry. But I'm not taking Chemistry this year... I have to take more math classes.

I had so many tests today I felt like my head would explode and then I got a pop-essay in English. Who gives out pop essays? What a sadistic bastard, getting his kicks out of torturing poor harmless students!

I checked my watch and realized I would barely be making this bus. I tried to speed up, saw the bus turn the corner, heading for the stop, but then my foot slipped and I landed hard on my ass.

The bus roared past.

And I sat there, my underwear now soaking wet and my pride bruised.

Story of my life.

Grumbling and cursing my life, I staggered as I stood up, taking a few drunken steps before I recovered my cat-like balance. I straightened my skirt and sighed as I caught sight of my textbooks lying in a puddle; there goes my study time, trying to dry those bad boys out.

I collected my books and walked the ten feet towards my bus stop.

I stood there in the rain, wet to the bone, and realized what a sad picture I made. I turned my head to try and shake off some raindrops that were in my eyes, when I caught sight of the abandoned building. It was an ominous hulking figure that seemed to tower over me and yet it was the shortest building on the block.

Something about it seemed off but I was more willing to get out of the rain than worry about some psychotic killer with a vendetta.

I looked up, blinking water out of my eyes and there were no lights on, the front door creaked open, and normally, I would be worried, but this is Tokyo, Japan. We have some of the lowest crime rate in the world, and this wasn't a bad area of the city. This was part of the older business district from before World War 2.

So I thought nothing of the abandoned building. At least I'd be getting out of the rain. And I had– at the least– an hour's wait for the next bus.

I walked towards the dark opening and searched my blazer pocket for my cellphone, which hopefully wasn't too wet. Oh wait, there's a plus! Today could have been worse, I could have been wearing my white sailor top! That would have sucked. White doesn't go well in the rain...

I flipped through the contacts and quickly texted my mother a short blurb about why I'd be late. She couldn't come pick me up because of my grandfather's sickness and a second job working nights at the hospital to pay for my prep classes.

I tried to convince her that I didn't have to go to prep classes, I could get a job but she wouldn't hear of it, she was convinced of my TokyoU future.

I passed through the doorway and the floor boards creaked beneath me. I called out a cautious 'hello', and waited for an answer. After a few seconds no one replied and my cellphone started to ring.

It was my mother.

"Hi Mom."

"Kagome, I hope you're studying."

"Of course." I lied.

"Good. But I'm very disappointed in you for missing the bus, you should be able to make a bus, you're seventeen. You'll be in college next year!" I could hear mother starting to rant, I had to get off the phone.

"Mom, look, I'm sorry but I have to go, I went back to prep school and the teacher's helping me with some statistics problems." I lied, so sue me.

"Oh! OK, I'm glad, Kagome."

"Alright, bye, Mom."

"Bye, Kagome."

I hung up the phone and returned it back to my pocket.

I walked a few steps into the building, wondering if I should feel guilty for lying to my mother when I was stopped by a gorgeous purple flower lying at my feet.

It was a deep royal purple, the petals perfectly formed into a bell shape, felt like silky gossamer, and curved delicately at the tips. The inside was a deeper shade of purple and my breath caught in my throat. The stamens were a pale yellow color, only a shade off from pure white.

I put it up to my nose, inhaling the delicate flowery scent, the petals tickling my nose and cheeks. I giggled girlishly, but there was something totally pure and innocent about finding such a perfect untouched flower is such a dirty rotten place like this. A place filled with dead dreams, where hope grew in the form of a dark purple flower.

Presently the flower was plucked out of my fingers and I looked up in surprise.

He was perfect, almost like an angel; his beauty put the flower to shame and would have made an angel jealous.

His hair was long and a blonde so pale it appeared white. Or maybe it was white. His eyes were golden and cold, sternly serious. His lips frozen into a pout. Skin, so pale and translucent– he was like a Dresden doll, more perfect than real life. He was tall and waifishly thin, with strange tattoos on his hands, half covered by an Addidas sports sweatshirt. He had some American band written on his shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans and Nike shoes that were fashionably not tied.

I gaped at him and couldn't stop staring. I felt so inadequate in his presence, my dripping wet hair and clothing made me shiver and I searched his eyes for some sign of life and compassion.

"You like my flowers?" His voice was surprisingly deep, it was unexpected. I couldn't find my voice to answer, I was too busy staring at the stripe of skin showing between his shirt and pants. It was so pale and perfect.

He went on. "I grow them myself, a special breed my family used to cultivate, now a secret known only to myself–and now you."

"They're beautiful."

"Yes they are, in fact they are commonly called the Devil's Cherries–so beautiful they must be the work of the devil."

I stared. I could believe why they thought something so beautiful had to be the work of the devil. "Some things are too perfect." I said.

He chuckled, a sexy laugh, deep in his throat. "I guess so. So what is you name my _bella donna_?"

"Oh! I'm Kagome! It was raining inside so I came in here..." I trailed off not wanting to sound stupid.

"It's alright. I'm Sesshoumaru, would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some, thanks!"

He motioned for me to follow him and he walked deeper into the building, weaving his way through garbage and piles of wood. He sat down on a wooden crate and picked up a tea kettle cooling on the ground at his feet and poured the amber liquid into an exquisite china tea cup with delicate lace decorum.

I sat across from him, smoothing my skirt down and fidgeting, too afraid to look him in the eyes. I put my books and bag down on the dusty ground. He handed me the cup and it was almost too hot to touch. He cautioned me against drinking before it had time to cool.

I cradled the cup in my hands and felt butterflies in my stomach fluttering. He was just too much. Everything about him. The sharp high cheek bones, the cold golden eyes that were piercing, there was no way he could be real. He was like a fae creature of legend.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" I asked.

He shrugged one of his thin shoulders that I was certain was going to poke out of his shirt at any minute. "It seemed like a perfect place to grow my flowers."

"What are they called?"

"I don't know. They've been called so many things, I prefer the Devil's cherries myself. Others prefer other, less strange names." He talked in an odd fashion like something from a different time, he was formal yet casual at the same time, a crazy combination that made my head spin.

"And your hair! Oh shit!" I can't believe I said that.

Holy Shit! Oh God! How nice Kagome, just make fun of his hair! He could be albino, it could be a skin condition! Oh, gawd!

He laughed at the emotions running across my face and actually answered me. "It runs in my family, it's a very pale blond."

"But you're Japanese!" Smooth.

"Yes, how kind of you to notice." I colored and lowered my eyes to the ground.

He chuckled. "It's alright. I understand, many people have that reaction, including my mother. My family lineage can be traced back to the ancient feudal era, where there is a legend of a priestess cursing my family with the pale hair and golden eyes of demon."

It was a breathtaking story and made images run through my head of priestesses wielding the power to condemn beauty upon a person.

"I don't understand, it's strange, but why would she condemn you like that?"

"Once we were cursed to look like demons we quickly rose to power– not exactly what the priestess hoped. Instead of spurning us and being slaughtered, people came from across Japan to see the humans who looked like demons of fable. They became instant celebrities and ruled for many centuries."

"Ironic." I whispered softly.

"Yes, very."

"I don't think you look like a demon though." I took a sip of the tea. It was cool enough not to burn.

"What do you think I look like, Kagome?"

I laughed at him, his face was eager and there was a small smile on his lips. I shook my head, "Maybe I'll tell you one day."

"That's not fair." He said his golden eyes trying to appraise what I meant. "I told you something, now you need to tell me something. Tit for tat."

"Nothing for something." I replied with a laugh. He seemed to be catching on that I was just teasing.

"You've hurt me greatly." He replied with a sigh, pretended to swoon like the English ladies of old.

"All right, since you obviously_ need_ to know... Actually, I don't have anything interesting about me. No family curses, no ancient secrets... nothing."

He looked at me strangely. "Kagome, a person such as yourself must have something interesting to tell."

I held my hands up in defeat. "Nope! Nothing!"

"Then tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything. Everything." He seemed uncertain about his bold move forward, but I was enamored of his looks and couldn't help but pour myself out to him.

"Okay. I'm Kagome Higurashi, I'm seventeen years old, eighteen in July. I'm a senior at Tokyo High School. I take lots of advanced classes–too many if you ask me, but I'm trying to get into Tokyo University, so it's worth it, I guess."

"You do not sound too interested in school." He commented.

"Yeah, well, it's not really my dream to go to Tokyo U, it's my mother's."

"What is your dream?"

"For the future? I don't really have any...And I think that's what's been making me put up with my mother's dream for so long..." I trailed off, not wanting to talk about myself or my family anymore. "What about your family?" I asked.

"There is not much to tell." He said dryly.

"Oh come on!" I wheedled. "Tell me something! One thing! Anything."

"Well, my real mother died when I was very young, now I have a stepmother."

I was quiet; I myself had lost a parent at a young age. I was a close friend of death's at an early age.

"Do you like her?"

"She's not my mother." Was all he said, and I let the conversation drop, parents aren't always a good subject.

I leaned back and looked up at the ceiling, listening to the rain pounding on the roof like a drum. There were spider webs in the rafters and vines from Sesshoumaru's plants hanging– almost as if from the heavens. The dark purple flowers bloomed, releasing a sweet scent into the stale, musty air. I breathed in deeply.

"Your bus is here. You don't want to miss it again, do you?" Sesshoumaru asked, a light tease in his voice.

"Oh shoot!" I yelped and jumped up, grabbing my stuff and racing for the door. "Thanks, Sesshoumaru! Maybe I'll see you again sometime." I yelled back over my shoulder, but I could no longer see him.

I stepped out into the world again just as the bus pulled up. I quickly got on and settled myself towards the back near an older couple talking quietly. I looked out the window, but it was too dark, I could only see my own reflection.

Staring back was a girl, her cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. I giggled quietly to myself.

As the streets passed by and I headed towards home I pulled out my cell phone and sent my mom a quick text telling her I'd be home soon. She never replied. Then I noticed something - I had never told Sesshoumaru I was waiting for a bus, or that I had missed the first one.

My eyebrows creased together as I scrunched my brow in thought, maybe he had been watching and had seen what was happening. Maybe he just assumed, or maybe I had said something about the bus and just didn't remember. There were so many explanations that I didn't bother to dwell on it for more than a minute before pushing it to the back of my head.

- Home -

My mother tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she continued to lecture me on staying out so late on a school night, especially when I had my studies!

I'll tell her what she can do with my studies! Way for her to try to make my bad day worse. It just went up another level on the Sucky-Day-Odometer. Congrats, folks, it's a new all time high! Grab the champagne, let's celebrate!

"Kagome! You'd better study extra hard tonight! But remember you need sleep in order to do better in school, every study says a child needs eight or nine hours of sleep, so rest up Kagome!" She chided.

"Sure Mom." I didn't bother telling her that I barely sleep five hours a night because of the amount of homework I do. I held in my pure hatred for studying and obeyed her every word, just like she wanted me to.

I'm not sure why I obey her, especially when I don't care about what she's talking about, but ever since Dad died and Grandpa got really sick... I haven't had that rebellious teenage spirit raging through my veins.

Could I be growing up?

Hell to the no!

I went up the stairs quietly so as not to wake my brother or Grandpa, but the old stairs creaked anyway. Bouyu poked his head around the corner to see who was invading on his territory and upon seeing me, declared me a worthy foe. He advanced as stealthily as an overweight cat could and launched himself at my legs.

He entangled himself in my legs and I hit the ground like a ton of bricks. I groaned and pulled the victorious cat out from underneath my legs and carried him into my room. For some reason, Bouyu had always had a strange sense of fun.

I carried the cat and my stuff into my room and settled them on my desk, where I switched on the desk lamp. I quickly changed out of my damp clothes into a pair of pajamas. Then I sat down at the desk and slammed my head down onto the table. Who ever invented homework should be shot, that's all I'm saying. Then I proceeded to work on an essay concerning the reproduction of mushrooms. Fascinating stuff.

- School the next day -

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and walked, hurrying down the school hallway. I had spent most of the night up doing homework and studying, but it was worth the look of pride on my mother's face when she checked up on me. The bell rang and I hitched up my tote bag. I wasn't worried about being late, I had lunch. I checked my skirt's length in my reflection off of a locker; too long and I'd be lame, too short and I'd be in detention.

A guy in front of me who I'd known since elementary school held open the cafeteria door for me and I thanked him before walking in. Eri and Yuka waved at me from our usual table and I went over and joined them.

"Kagome! You look different today!" Yuka said as I put my bag down.

"I didn't do anything differently today..." I said.

"No, it's not like that... you just look really happy!" Yuka chirped.

I laughed. "That reminds me, I have to tell you what happened to me yesterday! You'll love it!" They crowded around me and crowed for me to tell my story. That's why I love my friends... they're such stereotypical teenagers, it's refreshing sometimes. And totally annoying the next.

I told them about Sesshoumaru and my crappy day yesterday and as expected they responded the way they should, with sympathetic noises when I fell down and laughs when I told them about running over old ladies and dreamy sighs when they heard about Sesshoumaru.

"You should go talk to this guy again Kagome!" Eri giggled. "He seems _really_ cute!"

"Tell us more about him!" May added. "Tells us everything, every detail!"

I laughed at her eagerness. "I don't have anything else I told you guys!"

She frowned and sighed, "At least tell us what kind of flower it was he had!"

"I don't know... he didn't really say. He did call them the Devil's Cherries... but I don't think that was there real name." I replied.

"You should go look them up on google or something!" Yuka said.

Just then the bell rang and I turned back to Yuka, offered her a smile and told her I'd try but I didn't have too much free time these days. And that made me frown, it almost felt like my childhood was seeping away from me and I was powerless to stop it.

"Definitely see this guy again!" Eri yelled at me as I walked towards my Physics class. I was already convinced I'd see him again but not for a while, I had my studies and my mother to please.

- On the way home from Prep Class -

I'd remembered an umbrella today, too bad it wasn't raining. But I swear, if I'd forgotten it I bet you ten bucks it'd be pouring. That's just the way I roll. In fact, as I looked up at the Tokyo sky, I felt some emotion swell in my chest, rebellion. I could see my mother's face chastising me in the clouds, her perpetual frown and hard eyes, with love hidden behind them.

I sighed and hunched my shoulders over so that the beautiful sunshine wouldn't give me any more ideas to betray my mother. But it was useless once I saw the old building. It felt like a compulsion, I would say I was forced... but it was like I couldn't just turn around and go on my merry way, something was holding me steadfast to that building. I was chained to it and the dark things inside it like a cursed princess.

Gingerly I went in, pushing open the door with two fingers so that as little grime as possible got on me. It creaked so loudly as it opened that I thought for a minute I was in a B-rated horror movie.

"Hello? Sesshoumaru?" I called as I quietly walked forward, picking my way carefully through the debris. I searched for him, all the while a nagging sensation filled the back of my head telling me he wasn't there. I had made it into a far corner in the back where the windows were too dirty to let the sun shine in.

The smell of his flowers was almost suffocating, it was so strong and sickeningly sweet. I didn't see any flowers, but I definitely smelled them.

Suddenly a pale hand reached out towards me from a shadow and handed me a deep purple flower, its throat a garnet red, like a wine. My eyes lit up and the worried expression my face had harbored slipped away in a second.

Sesshoumaru stepped towards me delicately like an ethereal creature. I giggled and took the flower he offered, my cheeks warming. Seeing the look on my face made him smile, it was probably so goofy and dreamy.

I stared at him like a little girl awestruck by a prince, but in truth that was how I felt. The sight of him once more took my breath away and my chest hurt with each gasp for air. He stood out so starkly from the shadows he hid in that I was surprised I hadn't spotted him earlier.

His long white hair shone in the darkness like platinum or silver, where as mine stealthily hid, reflecting only dark blues and purples. I clung tightly to my flower as he motioned me over, but I walked past him, happily skipping away into the waning sunlight, past dark purple blooms.

Finally I let him catch me towards the front of the building where I could just make out the streetlights turning on through the murky window panes. I turned back towards him and surveyed our playground with it's dilapidated chairs and peeling wallpaper that I was certain had once been a bright yellow. But I didn't care, it was almost magical being there with him and I clung fast to that flower and let my books drop like my cares.

End Chapter 1

Diana - Finished! My new baby, Belladonna. I don't want to give anything away but I think even if you all go snooping you won't figure out the twist to this one. I hope you enjoy it, because this one will get you really good. : )

This isn't my first Inuyasha fiction but it feels like it. But it's good to be back.

And concerning Kagome's friends... I can't remember their real names so I went on my womanly intuition.


	2. Something Velveteen

1Belladonna

By: Fearless_Dranzer

Chapter 2 - Something Velveteen

I reclined back in my chair and it groaned out a warning, it probably wouldn't even hold my meager weight if I kept abusing it. Sesshoumaru regarded me quietly. I was lightly touching the petals of the flower he'd given to me and thinking, 'he loves me, he loves me not'. When I reached the last petal I smiled up at him. I could never bring myself to get to the end of that childish game. It was a given that half of the time my heart was going to be broken anyway.

We talked for hours and by 'we', I meant myself. Sesshoumaru wasn't much of a talker, he was the silent type but I knew that he was a good listener and cared about what I had to say. Never once did it come to me that I should ask him why he hung out in such an old decrepit building, but we were teenagers and teenagers do a lot of things for the hell of it. God knows I do.

We talked about classes and my friends, he said he didn't really have any friends and I left it at that. He asked me about school and college and I told him everything.

"Well I'm kinda nervous about college, but isn't everyone? I mean it's a big step in your life towards your future, towards your job and everything else. I just don't want to screw it up... I mean what if I'm one of those kids who totally burns out after high school and I fail outta college or something?" I started ranting and waving my hands around.

He laughed a laugh deep in his throat that made me shiver. "Kagome, trust me, someone who cares as much as you do about your future and school could never do something like that. You're a good person Kagome; you won't just throw your life away."

He wasn't prone to long speeches and I treasured that one for a few seconds before saying "Thank you." We continued to sit in silence, a comfortable silence as I stared into space and he played with a few of his flowers. "What about you? What about your future? College? A wife? Kids?" I asked.

He rolled lazy eyes over to look at me and their molten gold hue sent my heart a blaze. Beauty like that had to be the work of an angel. Or the devil. He just shook his head. "I'll go into the family business." Short, sweet and to the point. I knew I'd have to drag a conversation out of him.

"'The family business'?" I echoed.

"Nothing interesting; a corporate CEO, a desk job, a whiny secretary." He listed a few things nonchalantly but my jaw had already hit the floor.

"A CEO? Damn your family must be rich. Why do you hang out in a dump like this?" I asked, my face overrun by confusion.

"Sometimes I like to get away from it and be nobody. I like to wander the streets and take it all in." I knew what he meant, he liked to be anonymous, he liked to pretend he fit in for a little while at least. I knew exactly how I felt and I swear to God my heart stopped beating.

I never felt quite at home when I was in school, I always felt like I was pretending to be someone I wasn't. Pretending to be smart, to be athletic, or care about the nonsense girls my age are concerned about. There had to be something more out there than Tokyo U. I had to _be_ something more than Tokyo U.

"I think I understand." I said simply. Sesshoumaru needed no extending explanation. If I said I understood, well, I understood. If he wanted to continue on with the conversation he would but I doubted it. In the short time I'd come to know him I knew Sesshoumaru wasn't one for talking or having philosophical conversations. And I was happy about that.

We could be friends without knowing everything about each other. I'd know him for a few bare days and already it had felt like a lifetime. This was true friendship, how we could sit here in silence and how we never really had to explain ourselves. In Sesshoumaru, I had found another part of myself.

"Here." He said and he handing me a flower chain that I slipped over my head. It rested peacefully on my sternum and throat, almost like it belonged there. But I didn't dwell on it for too long, a quick glance at my watch told me it was time to go home.

"I have to go." I said.

He nodded in response and gave a slight wave of his elegantly long fingers, entwined in a flower stem. I waved back and grinned at him as I got up and walked away. Some how it felt like I was leaving a piece of myself behind; I wanted to run back, grab it, and take it with me. I knew what I had left behind—it was Sesshoumaru. I looked back over my shoulder but he had already disappeared in the gloom behind me and as I moved steadily to the door I realized how morbid and depressed my surroundings were without him. Granted it was an abandoned building, but it still felt old and drained without him. Suddenly I realized I felt the same way.

Suddenly, I was old, drained and depressed. My black hair, once long and flowing, clung to my skull lifelessly. My blue eyes were dulled with age and my fingers stiff with life lost. My body felt limp and heavy, like a weight was hanging around my neck. I wanted to shout out for help but it was like I was trapped in my own body, held down by a weight sitting on my chest. Every breath burned and putting one foot in front of the other was like moving a mountain. My arthritic hands fumbled with the door knob and my knees shook like twigs. This place was killing me.

Somehow I managed to twist the doorknob and fling the door open. Moist city air blasted my face, filling my lungs with pollution, the most delicious breath I ever taken. Every time I gasped in that foul air I could feel my body becoming stronger and reclaiming its former shape. My legs strengthen and my hair shone, my eyes glowed and my hands held steady like an unmovable force of nature.

I hurried away from that damned building as fast as I could because I knew with absolute absurdity that it was trying to kill me.

When the bus finally came I dragged myself up its steps and sank down into an unoccupied seat, cradling my head in my hands I had to face the fact that what had just happened must have been my mind playing tricks on me. Buildings don't try to kill people. I fingered a delicate blossom as my mind tried to work things out. The deep purple of the petals brought out the color of my eyes and gave my neck a violet hue. But to everyone else on the bus it was like I was invisible and I allowed myself to sink down in safety and exhaustion threatened to overwhelm me. The bus screeched to a halt at my bus stop and I was forced to leave my sanctuary and venture out into uncertainty.

Once inside I nodded a greeting to my family and continue on upstairs without stopping for dinner; claiming I have too much home work and I'd eat later. With a thud and a sigh I seat myself down at my desk and pull all my books out. I swear the weight of the world was on my shoulders, I was so exhausted that I felt like an extra from Dawn of the Dead. I stared at my chemistry homework until the formulas and chemicals swirled before my eyes.

– School the next day –

I scowled as I straightened the front of my uniform; I had managed to fall asleep while doing my homework and somehow woke up at four a.m. and struggled to finish it. Earlier my eyes had threatened to close but I had managed to pump enough green tea into my system that I was wired better than a hard drive. My friends waved to me from across the hallway and I plastered a fake smile on my face, I didn't feel like telling them about my strange life. That would make everything sound too realistic. At least my days sounded somewhat normal in my own mind.

"Kagome! Kagome! Wait up!" A voice yelled from behind me and judging from the deepness it had to be a boy. I turned off to the side and allowed a current of students to stream past me until Hojo caught up to me, carried by the crushing tide. I jumped in beside him and we were both swept away. Hojo was smart and athletic; he was also cute, but only in a friendly-nice way. I could never picture being his girlfriend and after a while he realized that I was only willing to be friends. Luckily he was okay with it and settled on some new girlfriend who was probably a lot better for him than I could ever be.

He smiled at me; soft and pleasant. He was always sweet enough to make my teeth hurt. Seriously, everybody needs a Hojo; he was my partner in crime, my Bonnie to his Clyde. Too bad the worst we'd ever done was sneak into an 'R'–movie. "Are you ready for the Calculus test today?" He asked pleasantly.

"Huh?" Real smooth...

"The Calc test Kagome! You know, Rurumi-sama has only been reviewing for it for the last three days?" He laughed as he spoke but my heart stopped cold.

"Oh shit!" I groaned.

Hojo had pity in his eyes as he realized at the same time I did, that I'd forgotten all about the test and hadn't studied at all. "Don't worry about it Kagome! You're so smart and besides we've got five periods until the test, that's more than enough time to study." He tried his hardest to consol, bless his heart.

I moaned. "Yeah, I guess so." I sighed and he glanced at me sympathetically.

"Don't worry Kagome, if you do badly – which I doubt – there's always the midterm that'll replace one grade. And this is just one test, I'm sure it won't effect your average. You'll still have a good mid-year report to give Tokyo U." He's just made of sugar isn't he?

"Hojo, what did I ever do to get such a good friend as you?" I laughed and he blushed and stammered.

I rushed off to my first class as the bell rang and Hojo waved good-bye. I slid into my seat as the teacher came in and started doing roll call for home room. With a sigh I pulled my math notebook out after waving hello to a few friends and acquaintances. I shook my hands out and proceeded to spend the next six periods in a blur of Calculus. By 7th period I was dead and English and French were spent trying to recover from the beating studying had given me. I sighed as the final bell rang, I may have aced my Calc test but I had managed to blow off every other class I was in today. With the way I was paying attention, I might as well have skipped. It would've saved my teachers the time of checking me in during roll call.

I waved weakly to a few friends and didn't stop to chat; I had to hurry off to prep class had they had all their sports and clubs to participate in. Could you blame me if my good-byes were tinted with jealousy?

Before catching the bus to my class I stopped by a drink machine and bought myself a few more green teas, it was going to be a long day.

Sitting on the bus I took a few shallow sips of my tea, waiting for the caffeine to hit me when I started thinking about Sesshoumaru. Strangely, I hadn't thought about him once today until that moment, my life had been ruled by Calculus. Should I go see him? I really don't have the time too. I blew off every class today, so I have some studying to catch up on...but studying can wait. I do have book I have to read for English but I've already read most of it and bet most people in the class won't read more that the first chapter. Why should I have to do more work than them? Oh right, because I want to go to Tokyo U.

Someone should shove a big stick up Tokyo U's ass and twist it. Too bad Tokyo U would probably enjoy it. Once more I seriously thought about ditching Sesshoumaru for today, but I knew I couldn't. I'd only known him for two days and he was almost like a complete stranger, but somehow, our souls melded together. Yin to yang, we were light and dark. As I stared at a murky alley way I wondered who was which.

– Prep Class –

I stared at the clock and willed it to move faster. No good. Obviously my mental telepathy wasn't strong enough yet. I'll have to hone my skills. The teacher won't stop talking about nonsense in a nasally voice that makes it sound like he has a permanent cold. He's writing a sentence in English down on the board but I've already translated it and I look around at the other suckers in class with me.

One kid has his headphones blaring and I'm not sure how the teacher can't hear it himself. Another girl has been fastidiously applying make-up to the same area of her face for the past twenty minutes and I'm certain the creeper in back of me has been snoring since before the class even started. Why do I bother? There are only three other girls in the class and there as shallow as a shower. The deepest they've probably ever thought was 'blue or purple shirt'? People are stupid.

The other kids in my class that are actually paying attention are boys. Nerdy boys. They've all got glasses and most still have acne and braces and I'm quite certain a few of them may have skipped a grade or two. One kid is by no means a senior; he looks like he's five. And they all sit there with the same glazed look on their eyes as they struggle with English tenses and phrases. I on the other hand, had learned perfect English from my father who often traveled to America and England for business. If he could hear me owning these kids he'd be proud.

For the umpteenth time, I found my thoughts wandering to a certain silver-haired someone. I sighed quite audibly, but not even the teacher looked at me. Making up my mind I raised my hand and asked to go to the bathroom. There was still half-an-hour left of class but I was burnt. I put my notebook in my back and placed my mechanical pencil into its place before snapping my messenger bag shut and carrying my textbooks out. No one even glanced my way. As the door closed behind me, I drifted off down the hall way. There was no one to follow me; I took prep classes at one of the community colleges located sporadically around the city. They were pleasant enough places with pleasant enough students and pleasant enough teachers, but I was looking for something more. Where was the pizzazz?

Would I be forced to live my life out as an actress on a forever-darkened stage? As I walked down the street I contemplated what I really wanted from life and my thoughts kept going in circles. I soon got dizzy and let my thoughts wander to more interesting subjects.... yes, like Sesshoumaru.

Even when I thought about him my heart thudded and sped up, my breathing got shallow and my cheeks flushed. Was this teenage puppy love? Or was this infatuation? Or even... obsession? In my heart I knew it was probably just a crush, but I let my girl hormones run wild as I pictured myself as a 1950's American housewife and Sesshoumaru as my 1950's America working-husband. I just couldn't picture him yelling out 'Honey, I'm home!'. Yeah, my two and a half kids, white picket fence dream definitely wasn't happening.

I stopped outside the old building and stared up at its empty windows, darkened with soot and time. The behemoth that stood before me was old and run-down and still so powerful. Warily I touched the wood door; I'm not sure what I expected to happen. But I reassured myself and opened the door before walking in. When it closed behind me, it effectively cut me off from the outside world and sunlight, I unconsciously shuddered. But buildings don't try to kill you.

Deep down I felt terrible about cutting out early on my prep class but I managed to distract my mind from my guilt by trying to convince myself that I wasn't going to learn anything I didn't know anyway. Besides who could pay attention to English when half-naked Sesshoumaru's were leaping in flower fields in your daydreams? What straight red-blooded girl could ignore that I ask you?

It was terribly dark inside the building away from the streetlights that were just beginning to come on. My shoes crunched on something and I was too crossed out to even try to figure out what. In a big city like this you learn not to always look so close at what you walk on. I mean, come on, those city streets are disgusting, take my advice and don't look at them anymore than you have to.

The sweet smell of flowers filled the air and I almost tripped over a box that was hidden in shadows, I left out a soft grunt as my shins collided with something hard. Ouch. "Sesshoumaru?" I called, my voice holding only a small whimper of pain. I rubbed my shin and tried to will away the tears forming in my eyes.

Suddenly a hand grabbed my arm and I almost gasped but Sesshoumaru's white hair glowing in the darkness identified him as a friend. "Are you alright?" He asked in his deep baritone voice, his eyes holding concern as he examined my shin. It wasn't like he could even see anything anyway; my leg warmers covered my leg from below my knee to my ankles.

"I'm fine." I said with a laugh, not willing to let him see my weakness. I brushed off my shin and he loosened his hold on my arm. He didn't look like he believed me and I knew I didn't sound very convincing. I also knew that by tomorrow morning I'd have one helluva bruise. Oh well. No one would care anyway.

We moved back into the building and when I stumbled in the darkness, Sesshoumaru looked back and took my hand. The blood rushed to my cheeks but he couldn't tell in the darkness and I was grateful. There was no need to look like a blushing pre-teen around a guy. I could see a lantern lighting up a large area towards the back of the building. And suddenly I was confused. He hung out in an old decaying building, growing flowers and making tea. But how the hell did he make the tea when there was definitely no stove in here or electricity. I was about to ask him how he pulled off his tricks when he spoke first for once.

"I won't be here for the weekend." Oh God, my heart dropped past my stomach into a dark part of myself and it felt like there was an internal emptiness growing and consuming my soul. With that one sentence it felt like he was killing me and my brain was so fried I didn't even start crying. I just had a vacant look on my face and I felt my eyes burn, but no tears spilled. I looked at him and I knew my expression was angry, but he was completely emotionless twirling a deep purple flower between his thumb and forefinger. As if he could sense my soul's demise, he placed the flower gently behind my ear, tucking it into my hair.

My breath caught in my throat and for a second his hand lingered more than was necessary and I thought he might kiss me. Instead he let his hand drop and I gazed down at my feet feeling foolish. A guy like him would never like a girl like me. First of all I'm a nerd and no guy wants a nerdy girl. Second, he's rich and I come from a struggling family, my only way out being college. Third, he was like a god and I was just mortal.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I blurted out, not thinking and immediately I was embarrassed.

He laughed at my stupidity, but it was an endearing chuckle. "No, I do not."

"How come?" I asked, now I was curious.

"No one has interested me enough." He replied simply with a shrug of his shoulders and I let the conversation drop. I wasn't a very interesting person anyway.

Instead I went back to a topic that was sure to make me upset. "Why won't you be here?" I asked softly.

He looked away and his expression hardened. "My family is having a meeting." He moved his fingers in the air making quotation marks around meeting.

"A meeting?" I asked, prompting him.

"It's hard to explain. It's like a business meeting between members of my family. We're all involved in different enterprises under the same company name, a company run by my father, so we – my brother, father and I – have to check up on them." He rubbed his eyes and temples.

"You don't like the family business?" I asked.

"I don't really care about the family business. Sometimes it's interesting and sometimes it isn't." He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "It's my brother that drives me mad."

"You have a brother?" I asked shocked, he had never mentioned a brother.

"A little, half-brother. Quite a nuisance."

"Aw, he sounds adorable a little Sesshoumaru! What is he five?"

"Eighteen."

Ew... nice one Kagome, I'm sure he's adorable and eighteen year old and you think he's five! Great! Jeez, his little brother's older than I am... "How old are you?" I asked, dreading an answer.

"Nineteen."

"Oh," My mind did the math. About a year between there births but pregnancies lasted eight months or more... so less than half a year between conception...and his mother died when he was young...what a tangled web we weave.

Maybe he could see the thoughts on my face or maybe he just figured I'd ask anyway. "My father cheated on my mother before I was born. She died during childbirth and he remarried less than a month later."

Oh God. "I'm sorry." I said. My father was dead but so far as I knew, my mom hadn't even gone on another date with a man. She always claimed it was true love and that nothing could break that kind of love even in death. I could understand now Sesshoumaru's annoyance at his brother and his negative attitude towards his stepmother. A woman dying during childbirth was so ridiculously uncommon in this day and age that Sesshoumaru's mother's death was almost like a one in a million chance. It almost seemed like his father had tried to replace one mother with another.

"I guess I can see why you don't really like your family so much." I said.

He nodded. "My father acts like my mother never existed and my stepmother is a bleeding heart who tries to hard. Inuyasha... Inuyasha is a pain, useless and waste of breathe." Ok, so maybe he didn't dislike his brother—it was better to say his heart burned with hatred over his brother. On that I couldn't really relate, I loved Souta.

"He's the favorite isn't he?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Inuyasha, he was your dad's favorite." I said simply and even though he said nothing in response I knew it was true, Sesshoumaru who was so perfect and aloof was dying from lack of attention from his father.

From looking at Sesshoumaru one could tell he was a perfectionist and had the makings of a shrew and cunning businessman. He had the athletic build of a distance runner and the wiry strength of someone who didn't back down in a fight. Any dad would love a son like him, calm, collected and level-headed but somehow Sesshoumaru's father turned a blind eye. Sesshoumaru's perfection could only be the result of years of determination that came from jealousy. I shook my head sadly.

We sat in silence and he gazed off into a dark corner before I spoke once more and changed the conversation. "It's too bad you won't be here this weekend. I was hoping maybe we could hang out."

He shrugged his shoulder. "There is always next weekend, but what about your studies?"

Now it was my turn to shrug. "I have all weekend to work on that." Yeah, I just won't sleep. "Maybe we could go to the movies."

He smiled mysteriously, "We'll see," was all he said.

I looked down and checked my watch; it was almost time to catch the bus. I smiled wistfully at him and he knew it was that time of the day. I picked up my bags and books and waved. "Stupid bus." I said and he waved back and I left, quietly picking my way through the debris towards the front door.

"Good bye _belladonna_." He called to me and my heart swelled.

Once the circle of light left me I almost felt crushed by the darkness and turned around to ask Sesshoumaru to help my but he wasn't there. There was no lantern there anymore. There was nothing and my heart pounded and I let out a strangled moan. I hate this building. And that bastard, never here when I need him.

Yeah, I found it strange that he had packed up all his crap and high-tailed it outta there in a second but then again I didn't doubt the man's talent. I'm pretty certain if anyone had secret hidden ninja skills, it would be Sesshoumaru.

Somehow I managed to find my way out of that labyrinth and made my way to the streets of Tokyo. The bus was pulling up by the time I got to the stop, which was a good thing. Even in Tokyo, it gets dangerous at night. Every city has the same problems, even a city as techno-savvy as ours. We still have gangs running around; you especially have to watch out for them in this part of town. You have your occasional criminal, but usually its gang-related issues. But I'd never had an issue with any gangs, and they weren't a problem at my school.

I got on the bus and sat down towards the back and as the hulking metal behemoth pulled away with a sputter of acrid smoke I chanced a look back, over my shoulder and the old building. It was dark and empty with no sign of life.

Deep in my mind worry festered and I wondered about Sesshoumaru. I liked him that was for sure, but he was strange and I felt totally comfortable with him. I felt like we had been friends for years instead of just days. I flashed back to when he said he'd be leaving me and I shuddered. I could barely bare the thought of him leaving me for just a few days. This was definitely obsession.

But I didn't care.

End Chapter 2

Author's note : OK, so it's starting to take shape and we're noticing the strange relationship Kagome has gotten herself into. But remember in this story nothing is what it seems. Seeing isn't everything.

I apologize for the gaps between updates, I'm in very hard classes and I do a sport every season, so let's just leave it at that I don't have a lot of free time to spare.

Thanks to my beta reader, Dyn Rite! She really is amazing!


	3. When Both Our Cars Collide

Belladonna

By : Fearless_Dranzer

3 – When Both Our Cars Collide

I tapped my paper impatiently as the clock seemed frozen on 1:35. Five minutes until freedom. My teacher was patiently explaining a simple concept to a girl to my left who was pretending not to understand just to take up time. It was just asinine. My eyes drifted away from the board and flicked back to the clock for the thousandth time.

The day had been flying past me and it was like I was just an observer in my own life. I'd had a terrible headache all day. I'd barely spoken in any of my classes; I'm not sure if I even blinked or not. I was like a zombie day-dreaming about my encounters and the one I planned to have today.

I didn't have my prep class today, so after this class was over, I had the afternoon free to myself. I could go visit him for as long as I wanted and if my mother questioned my whereabouts, I could just lie and say I was at extra help. So long as it had something to do with grades and school, my mom doesn't care if I spend little to no time at home. My grandfather would be the only one to worry over me. If I was out and about for a long period of time he would fuss over me when I returned, making me some tea and feeding me some strange concoction of herbs and medicinal roots that tasted horribly bitter. His methods were at times ineffective, but he meant well. I saddened my heart that he was so sick. My grandfather had been a permanent part of my life since before I was even born, living without him is unfathomable.

The ringing bell startled me out of my thoughts and shook me out of my revelry, everyone was rushing to pack their bags and free themselves from their scholarly prison, while I moved methodically and mechanically, like I was in daze.

I picked up my bag and walked out, waving good-bye to my teacher before following the crowd out the front doors.

Girls stood in circles and chatted, laughing in high-pitched, ticklish voices that grated in my head. Boys did stupid foolish things that tried to get the girls attention but did nothing but embarrass themselves. I ignored all of them and left without saying good bye to my friends. I jumped on the train as it passed by in front of my school along with a few other students; they quickly got off at their own stops but I settled in for a longer ride.

I travelled into the center of the city, where the sidewalks became dangerous even in the light of day. Five boys stood on a street corner, each one with a hand inside their coat jacket, grabbing at a gun. I shivered and the bus quickly passed by them.

When the bus finally dropped me off at my stop, I looked to my left and to my right. There was no one within shouting distance if something happened to me. I tried not to think about that as I walked closer to Sesshoumaru's front door.

I knocked tentatively, not exactly sure whether or not I should do that, but it seemed polite. No one answered, but I didn't really expect a butler to come greet me at the foyer. I pushed the door softly and it groaned like a coffin being cracked open.

There were my footprints from the other day embedded in the thick dust on the floor and some dead leaves littered everywhere. I called out a greeting but there was no response, so I moved further back towards where we had sat the other day. There was a damp feel about the building as if no living thing could put roots down in the ground. I shivered and pulled my sweater tighter around my body. My loafers raised up little clouds of dust as each step disturbed the peace and silence of the building.

There was no one there. There was no tea kettle, just some marks in the dust. I called out for Sesshoumaru again but there was no response, except a falling flower petal.

I walked over to the eastern wall where the flowers Sesshoumaru grew ran rampant. They were slowly taking over the rest of the floor, shoving their roots into the cracks in the cement and drawing water up from the very foundations of the building. In the fading sunlight, they were frosted pink, their dark royal color lightened up.

"I guess he isn't here..." I murmured to myself. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

But before leaving, I bent over and snapped a perfect stem in half and tucked it into my dark hair. A sudden breeze came through and I was overwhelmed by the scent of the Devil's Cherries. They had a delicate scent, not at all musky, more like the perfume of cherry blossoms than roses. And I smiled because they reminded me of Sesshoumaru.

With another sigh, I turned on my heel and left; the only sign I'd ever been there was the disturbed dust.

I rode the bus back and texted my mother telling her that I'd been at extra help and would be home soon. I sat quietly on the bus thinking, the smell of the exhaust fumes giving me a headache. Once the bus dropped me off, I walked up the steps to my family shrine and retired to my room, exhausted.

My mother came up a few minutes later and told me that there was dinner in the microwave, waiting for me.

"I'm sorry Mom, but I'm not feeling too good. I've got a bad headache. I think I'm just gonna take a nap and wake up later to do homework." I said, lying down on to my bed.

She looked worried. "Well, alright Kagome. Just don't forget to do your homework and to study. And if you're hungry when you wake up, I'll bring you some soup."

"Thanks Mom." She left quietly and flipped the lights off for me. She meant well but sometimes she was too focused on school and grades. I mean, what if I don't want to go to TokyoU? What if I don't want to be some big time doctor or some hot shot lawyer? What I want to be... Well I don't know yet. But why rush these things? Only two of my friends know what they want to do for sure...and all the counselors keep telling us not to make such big decisions so quickly.

When I think about my future... I see a big freaking nothing.

Maybe I should be more worried about that.

I reached up and took the flower from my hair and before I placed it on the nightstand next to my bed, I very gently kissed it.

I licked my lips and my eyes closed before I could worry further.

I woke up hours later in a sweat, my head pounding like someone had taken a hammer to it. I let out a low moan of pain and felt my stomach heaved violently; I slapped my hand over my mouth and stumbled out of my bed to the bathroom.

I barely made it before my stomach revolted and its contents spilled into the toilet. I dry heaved a few times, before I placed my exhausted head on the cold porcelain of the seat. I moaned again because the pounding in my head had intensified. My arms and torso shook; my muscles were exhausted. I'd never felt such pain in my life. It was like I'd been hit by a fucking bus and left for dead in a gutter.

I moved my head to the left to try to see the time on my watch but the movement made my head swim and I puked again and again, until my stomach was totally empty. The sweat poured off of me and I could feel the toilet seat I was leaning on begin to become slick with my heat and sweat.

I sobbed and tried to brush away the tears that were pouring out of my eyes. I can't remember the last time I puked and I had no clue why I was so sick. My head was spinning and I couldn't think. I must have just eaten something that disagreed with me. But I hadn't eaten anything since lunch.

I sat there for another hour and half before I felt well enough to drag myself back to my bed. I would tell my mother, but she'd been so tired lately, she needed all the rest she could get. I settled back to bed and convinced myself that I'd feel better in the morning after some rest and a shower.

My alarm went off and my eyes had trouble opening. I shut the alarm off and sat up, feeling like a zombie. My entire body ached, even my eyeballs hurt. I ran a hand through my tangled hair and looked over at the flower on my nightstand. It was wilting. I touched its soft petals with my fingers and resolved to get up and go to school so that I could see Sesshoumaru later.

I got up and was accosted by dizziness for a few seconds. I waited until the room stopped spinning, so that I could make my way over to the bathroom and shower.

I turned the water on hot enough to steam up the room and to turn my skin pink. The moist heat felt oppressive at first but the hot water pounded the stiffness out of weak muscles. I felt infinitely better.

But I took too long in the shower and rushed to get ready to get to school on time. I threw my clothes on and moved my flower to a window sill where it could get more sun. I yelled a good-bye to my mother and grabbed an apple off the counter for breakfast. I took the shrine steps two at a time, until halfway down the stairs, I got dizzy again. I dropped my apple and watched it roll down the shrine steps. I crumpled to my knees and sat there for a few seconds, until I got my bearings. Then, I gingerly stood up again and moved through the mental haze that surrounded me. Each step seemed to take more effort than it should have. Even breathing seemed harder to do than usual. I started to breathe heavy and pant.

I moved over on the step, until I got to the pillar of one of the archways that I could lean against. My vision blacked out for a few seconds and came back before going black again. I gasped as my legs gave out beneath me and I grabbed the pillar before I could smash my face into the brick steps. I stumbled forward and tumbled on to the grass next to the steps and rolled down the hill, my momentum carrying me, until I was stopped by a tree.

I lay there trying to get my bearings, my vision still fading, my body trembling and covered in sweat. What was happening to me? I started to feel nauseous again and closed my eyes.

I didn't open them again until hours later.

A light rain fell on my face and the cool droplets felt like heaven on my flaming face. My skin felt like it was on fire.

I realized I must have passed out and was instantly shocked. Add that to my list of things that had happened to me for the first time recently. My head pounded and my vision was shaky at best. I was not in good shape. I must have dropped my bag when I rolled because it lay ten feet away from me and I was in no form to go retrieve it. But my phone wasn't in my bag, I'd put it in my pocket this morning, since I was running late. Moving my hand tentatively to my pocket, I searched for my phone then, I realized it had fallen out of my pocket and actually landed a little bit in front of me.

I strained to grab it but it was just out of my reach. I tried moving but I was immediately overtaken by dizziness—probably from hitting my head on something when I was rolling. I took a few breaths to steady myself before I heaved my body forward and snatched my phone off the grass. My vision went black but cleared quickly and I was left breathing heavily with a phone in my hand.

I dialed my mother's cell phone number since she was at work; it took me two tries since it was hard to see the numbers when they swam around the keyboard. It rang twice before my mother picked up.

"Kagome! I'm so disappointed in you! The school called to say you never came in this morning! I can't believe it Kagome, skipping school when you are so close to sending out applications for TokyoU! You won't achieve your dreams this way!" She continued to berate me in a disappointed tone which was worse than an angry tone if you ask me.

"Wait—Mom." I groaned, cutting in.

The sound of my voice must have shocked her because she realized something was wrong and changed her tune.

"Kagome! Where are you? Are you alright?!"

"I fainted...passed out... on my way down the shrine steps and fell down the hill. Please come get me." I sobbed.

"Oh Kagome, I'll be right there I'm leaving now, where are you exactly?" I could hear her running around grabbing things.

"I'm on the left side of the steps under a tree."

"Ok, hold on. I'll be right there!"

She hung up the phone and I was left, cut off from humanity. I could hear the rushing of cars down the street, just past the edge of the trees. But the drivers couldn't see me and I couldn't see them. I was effectively stranded.

After a few minutes, I managed to pushed myself up so I was leaning against the tree trunk; it would do no good to worry my mother further. I might as well try to look a little more put together. My eyesight didn't even blackout and as the light rain fell on me, it cooled my scorching skin.

I heard a car door slam and my mother was suddenly calling my name. "Kagome! Kagome!"

"Mom..." I tried but it was just a whisper, I cleared my throat and tried again. "Mom!"

This time she heard me because she suddenly appeared, running towards me. "Oh, Kagome!"

"It's alright, I'm just a little dizzy." I mumbled.

"Here, here. Let me help you up. Can you walk?" She asked.

"Yeah...yeah. I just haven't eaten in a while and I guess it caught up to me..."

"You've been working too hard dear. But you need to get inside out of this rain. Come on let me help you." With my mom's help I managed to stand up and get in the car. She drove me around to the driveway on the opposite side of the shrine and then helped me up into my bed.

She tucked me in and bustled around me. She heated me up some chicken soup and watched me like a hawk to make sure I ate it. My grandpa—even though he should have been resting as well—insisted upon getting involved in all the fuss and made me a soothing cup of mint tea.

"...Dad, I'm worried she was out in the rain for hours....pneumonia?" I faintly heard my mother say.

It was eventually decided that I should stay home for the day to recover my energy. My mother and grandpa left me to nap with the promise that they'd be back in an hour with something to replenish my lost nutrients.

I fell asleep easily to the sweet smell of the flower on my nightstand.

Only to wake up a little while later, sick to my stomach again.

I rolled out of my bed with a thud and a groan and crawled to the bathroom breathing heavily and sweat profusely.

I barely made it to the toilet before I was hurling up what little I'd eaten earlier.

"Mom...." I groaned between heaves.

She must have heard me, because once again she was there. Mothers always have supersonic hearing. She held my hair away from my face and rubbed circles into my back. She spent the next twenty minutes speaking soothingly in my ear as my stomach tried to come out my mouth.

Finally, I stopped and she proceed to half-drag-half carry me back to my room where she put clean pajamas on me.

"Mom, do you hear that?"

"Hear what Kagome?" She asked as she put my shirt on over my head.

"Someone's walking around downstairs with high heels on. Who's here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I don't hear anything Kagome..." She said.

"It must be Grandma, who else would be wearing high heels; although it's a little silly, an eighty year old woman in stilettos." I replied.

"Kagome, what are you talking about. Grandma's been dead for almost ten years sweetheart." My mom sounded concerned but I couldn't understand why she was worried.

"I met a nice boy the other day. He had long, long white hair..."

"White hair? Kagome... are you all right?" My mother's face was lined with fear and worry. "Here darling, just lie back in bed and close your eyes.

"Dad?" She called and a few minutes later my grandpa was shuffling in the door with his cane.

"What's the matter; is Kagome alright?" He asked, his voice raspy and breathing heavy from walking down the hall.

They moved off into a corner of the room, my mom whispering but I could still hear her clearly. "Dad, I think she's hallucinating. I don't think pneumonia does that to someone; but can this really be because she hasn't eaten in a while? She ate that soup earlier but threw it up, barely twenty minutes later. Should we call the hospital?"

"Hmm..." My grandpa walked over to where I was lying in bed and he patted my forehead. "Kagome, how are you feeling?" Suddenly my grandpa's eyes drifted to my nightstand where my dying flower was laying. He touched it, tentatively, with the head of his cane.

"Kagome, where did you get this flower from?" He asked suddenly.

"Dad?" My mom questioned, but she was ignored.

"Sesshoumaru grows them and he gives them to me. Aren't they beautiful?"

He turned to my mother and looked grave. "These are highly poisonous; even the pollen can be deadly."

"Poisonous flowers?" she asked.

He nodded. "They can cause nausea and dizziness and are specifically known for making people hallucinate. One sniff can mildly sicken and cause nausea, God only knows how much pollen has gotten into her system. We need to get her to the hospital."

"Ok, ok--Dad, call Souta's school and have them tell him we won't be here when he gets home. I'll get Kagome into the car." She turned to me, "Sweetheart, can you walk? We need to get you to the car."

I smiled at her dreamily and shook my head yes. We then slowly proceed to the car, my legs giving out beneath me, halfway down the stairs. She then carried me by herself, which is quite a feet for a forty year-old who was five inches shorter than me, to the car.

I really couldn't understand what the problem was. I had stopped feeling dizzy and felt serene. Everything was alright for the first time in days. All the stress was lifted off my shoulders and I was like a new born babe, without a care in the world.

My grandpa was waiting for us in the car, he'd turned it on and was holding the back door open for me so I could crawl in. He closed the door behind me and turned to get into the passenger seat. He sat down with a huff and I could hear his labored breathing and my mom whispered something soothing to him, telling him to hold on and just rest and regain his strength.

Suddenly, I was sad again.

"Grandpa?" I asked.

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine sweetheart, it's you I'm worried about. You see, that flower the young man gave you, is highly poisonous. It's been making you feel sick and is making you have delusions. We have to get you to the hospital, they can help you there Kagome."

"But why would he give me poisonous flowers?" The motion of the car driving was starting to make me dizzy so I put my head between my knees and moaned again.

"Sweetheart, don't worry about that now, just think about how they can help you at the hospital. You'll be fine soon Kagome."

"Ok Mom..." I groaned.

"Here," she handing me back a bucket that she must have grabbed from the house. "Puke in there if you need to sweetie."

"How are they gonna fix me?" I asked.

"They can't do anything, your body will expel the poison on its own. But the hospital will help keep you hydrated and sedated so that you'll get through the poisoning quickly and painlessly." My grandfather replied.

I must have blacked out for a while because the next thing I remember was being on a stretcher being rolled into the hospital through the ER. I turned to my Grandpa and asked him, "What's its name?"

He squeezed my hand gently, "Belladonna."

Then his hand left mine and I was left with my own thoughts and with the hospital lights glaring in my eyes.

A poisonous flower?

Why would Sesshoumaru poison me?

_Bella donna_...

A beautiful woman; a deadly flower.

Sesshoumaru is growing the Devil's Cherries in an abandoned building in Tokyo.

Myself, lying on a gurney under glaring hospital lights.

Rolling down the hallway was like walking down the path to heaven.

I was dying because I had slowly been poisoned by Sesshoumaru.

The flower tucked behind the ear, the flower chain, the tea, the flower I stole and kissed and sniffed. The flower who's pollen I must have been breathing in for hours because I slept next to it.

How could he give me poisonous flowers and not know it?

How could he be growing poisonous flowers and not be sick as well?

I thought back to every encounter I'd ever had with him and realized that everything revolved around that god damned flower.

We'd met because of it, I'd seen his flowers and he'd caught me admiring them. When I'd left, he gave me the flower and tucked it behind my ear. He'd made me tea from the flowers and I drank it. But then so did he. At least I thought he did.... He'd made me a fucking daisy chain of belladonna and draped it around my neck like a noose without a second thought.

How could he not know that the flowers he grows are poisonous?

The only answer being that he knows the flowers are poisonous and he deliberately tried to poison me. But why? Why poison me? If he wanted me to leave, all he had to do was tell me to leave. It just doesn't make sense.

A doctor leaned over me and shone a flashlight in my eyes.

"It doesn't make any sense." I said.

And then there was black.

Later, when I woke up alone late at night, I knew what to do. I pulled out the IV drip they'd stuck in my hand. I gingerly got up and the room spun. I groaned and grabbed the edge of my bed. I was too determined to let a little sickness get in the way of getting my answers.

I searched the room until I found my clothes that I'd come in with and slowly put them on. They were my pajama pants and a t-shirt and a sweatshirt but I didn't care. They could have been rags and I wouldn't have cared. I just needed something besides on my hospital gown for walking the streets of Tokyo.

I put my shoes on last and quickly braided my hair to make myself look more presentable. Upon seeing my pale visage in the mirror, I washed it to try to make it look less sickly.

Then, there was nothing left I could do. I smoothed out any wrinkles on my clothes and took a deep breath to steady my nerves and walked out of the room and wandered blindly, but seemingly with purpose, until I got to the nurses desk. One nurse looked up and saw me.

"I'm sorry Miss, but there are no visitors at this time. Visiting hours are closed until 10am tomorrow morning."

"That's ridiculous! People should be able to visit their loved ones!"

I must be the best actress ever.

"Miss, you can visit your loved one but you have to come during visiting hours."

I sighed, "Fine, I'll be back tomorrow."

I stamped off and wondered why I hadn't been in my high school's last play. Apparently, I'm a convincing actress. But no time to care about that now. I had a flower-growing-pansy-boy's ass to kick. Where the fuck does he get off poisoning me and all that?

I loved him.

Barely a week and I fell in love, with a misfit like myself. Someone who doesn't know their place in life but was taking it one day at a time. From my four days of experience, I thought we were perfect for each other. We were both social outcasts; we have no real purpose yet to our lives but we're trying our fucking hardest to be who our parents want us to be.

Well you know what Sesshoumaru?

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

You'd better believe I'm coming for your ass, I just have to get over this nausea first. I doubled over in the elevator, clutching my head. My vision blurred but by the time the bell dinged for the lobby, I was standing up again with just a queazy after taste.

I slowly walked off the elevator and through the lobby with my head held high. No one second guessed my presence. I was invisible to the world.

I went outside and the drizzle I'd passed out in early had turned into pouring rain. It hit my head with such ferocity that it stung my scalp. I ran for the bus stop and huddle under the little lean to.

"Shit." I mumbled to myself, I had no money to get on the bus.

"What's the matter dear?" This little old lady sitting next to me asked.

I sniffled, how could I get to Sesshoumaru without any money? I couldn't get back into the hospital unless I told them I escaped...but I could claim dementia still. And I could go try to find Sesshoumaru when I felt better.

But what if he wasn't there when I was better? What if he left so that no one could trace the flowers back to him? The fucker would probably skip town if he knew what was good for him.

I looked back at the little old lady sitting next to me. She had no umbrella just a little waterproof bonnet on her head and a bright orange poncho. Under her poncho was her oversized purse that probably had her life in it.

"...Just a bad day." I said with a sigh.

"Would you like to talk about it dear?"

"It's way too ridiculous of a story, sorry. You just wouldn't believe me." I apologized.

She nodded solemnly. "Here, I have a feeling you'll be needing this." She held out her hand and dumped the exact bus fare in my lap. "Just remember that all you really need is this." She placed her hand over her heart and smiled knowingly at me before she stood up and walked away slowly into the pounding rain.

I couldn't even refuse the money, the old bat practically ran away from me. I stared at the money in my lap and the bus pulled up. It had been such a strange day, that this last event barely even made me bat an eye.

I got on the bus and paid my fare. I sat in the middle of the bus and settled in for the drive. It was really hot on the bus and I rolled up my sweatshirt sleeves. I sat impatiently, my foot jumping up and down and I was pulling on the collar of my sweatshirt before I just ended up yanking it off over my head. It was so hot on this bus; I felt like the I was on fire. I looked wildly around at the other riders but they kept to themselves at this late hour.

It was so fucking hot. I leaned my head against the glass and that cooled it somewhat but I still was miserable. Three stops to go and the sweat was pouring off me.

At the next stop I couldn't take it and I got off the bus and into the rain. Once outside, there was a sudden drop in temperature that took my breath away. I quickly put my sweatshirt back on but my t-shirt was already soaked.

Ten blocks to go.

I started off at a brisk pace but quickly slowed when my muscles started to fatigue. I was so tired and weak from all the vomiting I'd done. I probably hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours and God only knows what the hospital did to me because I still feel like shit.

Five blocks to go and my vision got blurry and didn't get better. It was like walking through a thick haze, almost as if I was inside a burning building. I didn't see a single person that entire walk, the citizens of Tokyo seemed to know better than to go out in this type of weather.

One block to go.

I was walking so slow that it was taking me eons to get to the building, I was completely soaked through and shivering with such intensity, I could feel my jaw quivering. But I knew the second I got to Sesshoumaru, he would make everything better. He'd give me some tea and braid flowers into my hair with loving tenderness. He'd smile at me, something I knew few people ever saw, and everything would be alright again. I'd hold his hand and and my own would warm up from his body heat.

I got to the building and opened the door, closing the door behind me. It slammed shut with an ominous noise. I sniffed deeply and tried to smell the sweet perfume of the Belladonna, all I did was make myself start to dry heave. But there was nothing left in my stomach to expel.

Sesshoumaru would never hurt me. The smoldering looks he gave me, the way he made me a daisy chain—I doubt he'd ever showed anyone that much of himself.

We barely know each other and I'm just a stupid teenager but I know true love when I see it because what the hell else could this feeling be?

I lost my balance and slid down the wall into the dirt on the floor. I looked down the hallway and saw my footprints in the dust.

And only my footprints.

End Chapter 3

Author's note: Let's see if anyone can guess the twist to the end of this story. The last line is very important! And I'll leave it at that.

So all of Kagome's weird mood swings and her illness are the effects of poison. Belladonna is a beautiful flower that's highly poisonous. I don't think the pollen can make you ill—that is a major fallacy in this story—but I'm sure kissing the flower is a miserable idea. Kagome pretty much dug her own grave by placing the flowers so close to herself and by sniffing them and kissing them. Not to mention she drank tea made from the flowers. But for all intents and purpose, it's the pollen that is poisonous here! Not the plant itself! That's why the tea didn't make her as sick as just sniffing the flowers did.

Moral of this story, never trust strange boys giving you flowers!


	4. Inorganic Decadence

Belladonna

By: Fearless_Dranzer

4 - Inorganic Decadence

My dazed eyes stared expectantly at the path of footprints before me.

There was one set of footprints in the dust.

Just one.

I pushed myself up using the wall behind me as a crutch. The world spun around me but for the first time in days, it felt like my mind was clear of the haze it had been seeped in. I took a tentative step forward and my weak legs managed to support my weight. Further into the decrepit building I stumbled until I reached the area where Sesshoumaru and I had drank tea together. There was nothing but two crates and a dirty and cracked tea pot.

There were scuff marks in the dust by one of the crates and the impression of one set of footprints leading towards them. A whimper escaped my throat but I didn't believe my eyes. Instead, I forced myself to walk deeper into the hellhole until I found the belladonna. There was one vine with maybe a dozen flowers on it, twining its way up the back wall. A circlet of rotting flowers lay upon the floor. There was a high pitched keening noise coming from my throat that I couldn't stop.

Once again, there was only _one_ pair of footprints in the dust.

There had only _ever_ been one pair of footprints.

I had been the only person ever here.

All of our interactions...all of them...were...fake...

A hallucination...

Somehow, I had managed to make up all the time I had spent with Sesshoumaru.

There was a thick coating of dust on everything that tickled my throat and made me cough violently. A floorboard creaked underneath me and groaned so loudly that I thought it might snap. Hurriedly, I back up, retracing my steps to the front of the building. By this time I was hyperventilating—my breathing was ragged and my eyesight was fading fast. It felt like I was being closed in by a black abyss of which I had no hope of escaping.

I could feel bile rising up in my throat but nothing came up except for the acid in my stomach. Then there was some dry heaving and I leaned my head against the cool glass of the front window. A window that was covered by a sign that read 'Condemned by the Board of Health'.

With a shudder I shuffled out of the front door of the building, leaving behind the dust record that proved that I had been the only person there. I was afraid that as I left, the past would come back up and drag me back in the building—never letting me out.

A delusion.

Fake.

Made up.

My imagination.

...no it couldn't all be just a hallucination brought on by sniffing those goddamned flowers...it couldn't be...

I opened the door and stumbled out into the cooling rain. Had he been a ghost? If he was, why hadn't he appeared tonight to prove to me that I wasn't crazy? And why had I been hallucinating? Why would he hand me those flowers? The only explanation was that I had imagined the whole damn thing. The second I had walked in the front door of this condemned build, I had been doomed.

That first inhale had been laced with poison. And every breath I took after that was like the nail in my coffin. I never stood a chance. I was _fucking_ crazy. I'd _been_ going crazy. How did I know that the belladonna hadn't had a lasting effect on me? That I wasn't crazy now? For Christ's sake—I'd just run out of a hospital in nothing but my pajamas! Sane people don't do that!

I needed to run. I needed to be anywhere but here. My breath caught in my throat and I ran forward, my limbs not totally obeying me. I heard an awful loud noise that deafened me but I was in no shape to respond or figure out what that noise was. Instead, I just let out a moan and took another step forward.

I never realized that I'd stepped off the curb and into the street. I didn't hear the sound of the truck's horn blaring at me. I almost didn't feel the impact of the truck on my left side. I barely heard the sickening crunch of my bones breaking. The wind flew through my hair.

'Catch me, Sesshoumaru,' I thought as I sailed through the air to meet the cold wet asphalt.

My eyes fluttered open a few times before I could focus on anything. The bright light blinded me but my head was clear of the throbbing that has been plaguing me for the last few days. Instead, I felt light as air—my discomfort was gone. I tried to wiggle my fingers but there was no response. My muscles felt oddly stiff. Wiggling my toes gave the same sensation.

"Oh, Kagome..." The concerned voice of my mother rang through my ears. I shifted my head over to look at her face—she looked older than she had a few days ago, there were wrinkles where there hadn't been any before.

Sitting next to her was my brother, Souta, his eyes were red—he'd been crying. He sniffed back another sob and gave me a watery smile. "I was so...so... worried about you, Kagome."

My grandfather patted me on the cheek and brushed some of my hair back out of my face. "My, sweet sweet girl—what happened? Tell us."

"What do you mean? Where am I? The last thing I remember... oh... oh God." I trailed off and looked down at my body. My breath hitched up as I realized why I could move any of my fingers or toes. Both my arms were wrapped in plaster and some of my fingers too. My left leg was suspended in the air and also wrapped in plaster. I took a deep breath and a stabbing pain made me moan.

"Oh no! She's in pain. I'll call the nurse!" My mom cried out before frantically pressing the nurse call button on the wall next to her. "Oh my sweet Kagome." She said as fat tears ran down her face. She reached forward and wiped away the salt water running down my face which just made the tears come harder.

A nurse came running in, all flustered and red in the face. "You're awake!" She cried before hurrying over to my IV bag. "How much pain would you say you're in Kagome, on a scale of one to ten?" She asked me.

The throbbing pain started up in all parts of my body and I moaned a response to her. Apparently this meant something to her because she just nodded and started injecting something into my IV bag. Almost instantly the pain dissipated and was replaced with a feeling of serenity. I sighed my content.

"Mom, what happened? I just remember this truck coming towards me..." I said, not ready to put two and two together yet.

"Well, sweetheart, that truck ended up hitting you. Luckily, the driver knew basic first aid and CPR, so you were handed off to the EMTs in stable condition... You ended up breaking your arms, some fingers, a leg, and a couple of ribs...Kagome... we were so worried. Seeing you lying there like that, it was terrible."

"I'm so sorry Mom! I didn't realize I wasn't on the sidewalk anymore. I couldn't move away fast enough..."

"Kagome! No one blames you! You were sick and poisoned!" My grandfather broke in. "Why when I find the boy who did this to you, I'll...I'll—well I don't know what I'll do but it'll be terrible!"

"No one gave me the flowers," I struggled with the words. "I wandered into this condemned building to escape the rain and I found those flowers. I didn't realize what they were, so I leaned in close and took a deep breath... Everything else must have been a hallucination. There hadn't been anyone else in that building for a long, long time."

My mother let out a breath, "That's a relief Kagome. I was afraid someone was trying to hurt you!"

I almost choked on my self pity, it was so thick. They stayed for another hour, fussing over me. Souta left me some of his mangas to read, forgetting that I had no control of my arms. My grandfather pointed out all the flowers in the bouquets that littered the room. Apparently my friends had been informed of what happened and they'd started sending gifts in force. It made me laugh when I saw the size of the chocolate heart given to me by Yuka.

When the nurse came back in the second time to make sure my pain killers hadn't worn off, she ushered everyone out once she saw the look on my face. My mother fussed over me a little more before they all left. The nurse turned the lights out for me and I proceeded to cry myself to sleep quietly.

He'd been a dream. Nothing but a hallucination. I'd made him up completely. I'd fallen in love with a mirage.

Who does something like that?

I'm a freak.

Deranged.

Insane.

I drifted off into a listless sleep.

The next morning, I woke up with my mouth feeling drier than cotton. I tentatively tried to move my tongue but it was glued to the roof of my mouth. I tried to grab the water pitcher off of the table next to my bed but my clumsy fingers spilled the pitcher. With a sniffle, I pressed the call button on the side of my bed and a nurse appeared a moment later. She was an elderly woman and different than the one who'd been with me last night.

Her hair was twisted into a loose bun on top of her head and she gave me a wrinkled smile that showed her dentures. "You're awake Kagome. The nurses have been waiting for you to join the world of the living again. We were all excited to meet you after hearing the way your family talked about you."

This made tears run down my cheeks again and she came over and gently brushed them away with a tissue. "There now, no need for crying my dear. You're alive and here and that's what counts. It's a miracle that you weren't hurt worse. And a miracle that the driver used to be an EMT himself. He knew exactly what to do." I nodded in response and tried to stop the tears building in my eyes.

"Now, what's the matter, Kagome?"

"Thirsty..." I croaked out and I flicked my fingers towards the spilled pitcher.

"Ah I see, hold on a moment." The nurse walked over to the other side of the room and picked up another pitcher sitting by the sink. Slowly, she poured me a cup of water and pressed it to my lips, encouraging me to drink. I drank two cup-fulls before I could speak.

"I'm sorry I spilled the water," I said. She nodded sagely.

The nurse walked over to the windows and threw open the shades. The sun light came streaming in and hit me on the face. "I guess I am lucky, right?" I said with a sob before the tears started dripping down my cheeks. I cried long and hard for myself, for my loss and for all the pain I'd been putting my friends and family through these last few days. I'd caused my mother's premature aging and had made things harder on my already sick grandfather. A kid as young as Souta didn't need to know what it would be like if he lost his sister either.

The nurse stayed with me and patted my head until the tears stopped flowing. "Here, I'll call the doctor in to come see you now that you are calmed down." I nodded and she hobbled out of the room.

When she was gone I took stock of myself. I could only wiggle seven of my ten fingers and only five of my toes. Both my arms were essentially useless because they were forced to be bent at a ninety degree angle. And I had to make certain that I didn't make any sudden movements or my ribs would scream in protest. I could feel the throbbing and tightness of my skin where I assumed my flesh was littered with bruises and scabs. When I tried to move my mouth into a smile, I could feel the splitting of skin as I broke open a-barely-healed cut.

It should have been worse.

I should have been dead.

Salty tears of relief stung the split in my lip.

I was alive and it seemed like the hospital staff was convinced that only a miracle could have left me in this good of shape. And I agreed with them. It was a damn miracle that I was hit by a truck and survived with such minimal injuries. I hadn't even required any surgery.

A miracle.

I looked over at the sunlight streaming through my windows and another tear escaped. But this wasn't a tear of sadness but a tear of happiness.

I was alive.

I shifted in my bed and felt only the slightest bit of protest from my ribs. The bruises had faded and the cuts on my body were almost completely healed. I still had all my casts on but bones take weeks to heal. I wouldn't being doing anything too strenuous for a while.

But my doctor had decided that I could go home and it felt like a dream come true. I laughed and the nurse braiding my hair patted my on the shoulder.

"Excited about going home Kagome?" My nurse asked me.

"Yes," I simply replied and I think she understood.

My mother came in a few minutes later and she leaned down to kiss me on the forehead like she always did. My mother had visited me once a day for the past two and a half weeks I'd been in the hospital. She'd come after work on weekdays and all day long on the weekends. Some of my other friends had come to see me after the school day was over and there was always Souta and Grandpa stopping in. I hadn't been too lonely, especially since a lot of the nurses liked to come eat lunch with me.

Two nurses helped me into a wheelchair and my mother placed a blanket she'd knit on top of me. It had grown much colder since I'd been in the hospital. A lot had changed over these weeks and yet it seemed like nothing had changed at all.

I said my goodbyes to the nurses and my mother took me out to the car. As we rode down the elevator, my mother chatted with me about everything under the sun. She asked me what I wanted my first home cooked meal to be and I'd responded that anything she made would seem delicious compared to hospital food. She laughed.

It was then that I realized that never once had my mother mentioned school to me in all the time that I'd been in the hospital. She'd never told me to study or do any of the homework that was doubtless piling up on me.

Maybe now I could finally tell her that I didn't want to go to TokyoU, that I'd rather go to some university in America. That maybe, I didn't want to become a doctor, maybe I wanted to be a nurse. The thought of studying in America made me so excited, maybe I would go to NYU. I'd always loved New York City but I had never been.

Two male nurses put me into the car and my mother drove us home.

"Oh Kagome! You should have seen your doctor! He was so handsome, I can't believe you managed to be asleep every time you saw him..." My mother said with a laugh.

I laughed too. "I was either asleep or too drugged up on pain killers to be aware of what was happening." After the first three days of me being awake, I'd refused any more painkillers. They made my brain foggy—like I was drunk or super tired. By the third time that I'd hallucinated girl scouts trying to sell me cookies, I decided that Tylenol would be strong enough for me. After spending a few days sniffing belladonna, I was tired of hallucinating.

"Haha, well you're lucky because you'll get another chance to see your doctor. You won't believe it Kagome,I can't really believe it myself-but he and his two boys moved in next door to us."

"You mean, down by the street? Or behind us on the other side of the hill?"

"Behind us! Remember the Takami's house has been for sale since last year! I didn't think anyone would be able to afford the price they put on that thing! But I guess if anyone could afford it, it would be a doctor." My mother mused to herself and I agreed.

"What a small world." I said.

My mother nodded in agreement. "Sometimes, the world is a funny place."

Suddenly, I remembered the figure I'd seen all those days ago, looking down on me from the window of the condemned building. Who had that been? I could've sworn I'd seen someone looking down at me. Had there been a little grain of truth to my hallucinations? Had I seen someone or thought I'd seen someone and then my deluded mind had put a face to that shadowy figure? I couldn't decide.

I just looked up at the sun and wondered.

"A bunch of your friends came by and helped us get the house ready for you! They even built a small ramp so that we can get you up the stairs. You're a lucky girl Kagome to have such nice friends. In fact—a young man, Hojo, I think his name was—came by a few times to check up on you. He was very cute Kagome..." She said, giving me a knowing look.

"Oh, yeah. He's a nice guy—always wanting to carry my books for me." I said, trying to itch my right leg on my cast.

"Now, remember, the hospital didn't want you to go home so soon. But they agreed that you could come home with us if you had a nurse for the next week and a half on duty 24/7. She came to us highly recommended by the hospital—she used to work there! Her name is Sango and she'll be here in a few hours. We've got her set up in the empty guest room next to yours with a call button connecting the two of you. There is a call button that goes into my room too."

"Oh, Mom! You have to work! You can't be taking care of me all the time, especially when you hired someone to do that for you." I complained, trying to remind her that she had other obligations.

"Kagome, honey, I can't help but feel like this is all my fault. I pushed you too hard and you were under so much stress that this all happened to you! Maybe this makes no sense Kagome, but I'm your mother and mothers are prone to blaming themselves for anything bad that happens to their child." She looked over at me and placed a hand over one of mine. I could feel the warmth of her skin through my cast.

"Mom, none of this is your fault. I just made a bad decision and things spiraled out of control...I think it was just bad luck...I'm not sure. I'm trying to blame someone—something—but nothing seems right. Sometimes, bad things happen and there's nothing you can do."

"I guess you're right Kagome. Let's try to live and learn."

Once my mother pulled up into the driveway, we were charged with the task of getting me out of the car. My brother came running out when he heard the car coming up and between him and my mother they managed to eventually get me into the wheelchair. I'd been jostled and hurt a few times but I didn't show any indication of the pain I felt—I'd already put my family through too much. As my family wheeled me to the front door, I caught sight of a moving truck parked at the house on the other side of our hill.

My brother pointed out the ramp he had helped build and I admired his handiwork. But I was too busy peering over my shoulder at the moving truck to really pay any attention to the ramp. The front door opened and my grandfather came out to greet me. There was a much taller middle aged man looming behind him.

He had long white hair in a low ponytail behind him and half-moon glasses perched on his nose. His eyes were a cold green-mixed-with-gold color. He wore a doctor's lab coat with a few pens in the chest pocket.

"Ah, Kagome. Awake at last. I'm Dr. Taisho, I've been taking care of you and making sure that you heal correctly." He said in a deep voice. His voice was much warmer than his outside appearance and he waved my mother off so that he could roll me easily up the ramp.

"Kagome, we invited Dr Taisho over for some tea so that he could take a break from unpacking. We figured you should get the chance to properly meet him." My mother called from behind me.

I can barely hear a word anyone was saying to me.

He looked like...Sesshoumaru...

But how?

He wheeled me into the house and into the kitchen where my grandfather had set up a pseudo-traditional tea ceremony. I guess he had modified it since there was no way I'd be able to sit on the ground.

We all took seats, with me rolled up to the table and began drinking some of my grandfather's custom blended tea. Dr. Taisho and everyone else kept up a steady good natured conversation and I tried to chime in occasionally. But I couldn't stop staring at Dr. Taisho.

What _had_ happened to me?

Had Sesshoumaru been real?

Dr. Taisho looked just like him and kept mentioning his two sons...

The sun shone in through the window on this cold day, but warm rays fell upon me. I looked up and out the window into the blinding sun and couldn't help but feel like this had all happened for a reason. I couldn't explain it and I didn't exactly regret everything that had occurred to me—slowly, I'd come to this realization.

Could the boy I'd fallen in love with be real?

Or was he just a trick of the belladonna?

The End

Author's Note – I think one person managed to semi guess the ending. I wanted to write a story with a true twist to prove that sometimes things seem too coincidental. That sometimes it almost looks like someone has pulling the strings. But when something truly remarkable happens to you, who do you have to thank?

Did she really meet Sesshoumaru?

Was everything in her head?

It seems like too much of a coincidence.

And some times there are never answers for these kinds of mysteries.


End file.
